Blades of a gas turbine engine have an airfoil and are held within a rotating disk by an attachment. The disk rotates at a high rate of speed or revolutions per minute in order to compress a fluid passing through, such as air. For example, an axial compressor typically comprises a plurality of stages, where each stage includes a set of stationary compressor vanes which direct a flow of air into a rotating disk of compressor blades, where each stage of the compressor decreases in diameter, causing the pressure and temperature of the air to increase.
Axial compressors having multiple stages are commonly used in gas turbine engines for increasing the pressure and temperature of air to a pre-determined level at which point a fuel can be mixed with the air and the mixture ignited. The hot combustion gases then pass through a turbine to provide either a propulsive output or mechanical output.
Despite operating in a relatively low temperature environment, compressor blades still require routine inspection and maintenance, which typically requires removal from the disk. However, prior art blade retention mechanisms, typically utilize staking or rolling of material from the disk over material of the compressor blade in order to prevent the blade from sliding within the disk slot. Staking is defined as the process of plastically deforming material using a tool similar to nail punch. While this process accomplishes the purpose of retaining the blade within the slot, in order to remove the blades, the rolled material must also be removed, leaving behind the holes and divots shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. After multiple times staking or rolling the disk material, the disk itself must be repaired or replaced. Other ways of securing blades in place include staking material of a replaceable staking insert as discussed in U.S. Published Patent Application 2009/0077795.